Bodybuilding and Human Growth Hormone (HGH)By: anonymous
Human Growth Hormone (HGH or hGH) is the most abundant
hormone produced by the pituitary gland (pituitary is one of
the endocrine glands). The pituitary gland is located in the
center of the brain. HGH is also a very complex hormone. It
is made up of 191 amino acids - making it fairly large for a
hormone. In fact, it is the largest protein created by the
Pituitary gland. GH has a half-life in the blood of
approximately 17 to 45 minutes. Because of this, detecting
GH in a drug screen is very hard.
HGH secretion reaches its peak in the body during
adolescence. This makes sense because HGH helps stimulate
our body to grow. But, HGH secretion does not stop after
adolescence. Our body continue to produce HGH usually in
short bursts during deep sleep, intense exercise and when
the hormone insulin is low.
Growth Hormone is known to be critical for tissue repair,
muscle growth, healing, brain function, physical and mental
health, bone strength, energy and metabolism. In short, it
is very important to just about every aspect of our life!
What is IGF-1?
IGF-1 stands for Insulin-like Growth Factor 1. IGF-1 is also
known as Somatomedin-C. As important as HGH is, it does not
last long in our bloodstream, this is mainly because the
body does not secrete GH in the bloodstream while insulin is
raised (insulin is released by the pancreas when you eat
carbs to push the sugar into your body). Insulin is
generally raised all through out the day, so GH is only
secreted occasionally when insulin is not present in the
blood. In just a few short minutes our liver absorbs HGH and
converts it into growth factors. IGF-1 is the most important
growth factor that is produced. So, IGF-1 is a hormone just
like HGH, but it is easier to measure in the body because it
stays in our bloodstream longer than HGH. You can think of
HGH as the hormone that gets the ball rolling, but IGF-1
does most of the work. IGF-1 can be in the body at all time,
even during insulin, so it does GH's work.
What is a Secretagogue?
A secretagogue (se-krėt“ah-gog) is a hormone that it's sole
purpose is to secrete the hormone GH. It checks the
bloodstream for insulin, and if there is insulin, it halts
all GH secretion, if there is no insulin, it tells the
pituitary to secrete GH if there is a need to.
What are the key times when your body secretes more GH?
During deep sleep and intense exercise. These are times when
you should have lower insulin levels so you can let your
body secrete GH, so eat no carbs before these activities.
Some may ask, if I eat carbs before I workout, will my
workout get all screwed up and it will be a waste of time
cause of little to no GH secretion? The answer is NO. Your
body will make up for it when insulin is cleared. Although
intense exercise is the starting point of a huge need of GH
for the restructuring of the body, and will secrete it ASAP,
which means as soon as insulin is cleared it will secrete
plenty of it from that workout, and days after. How about
going to sleep on carbs and insulin? Now this is bad. This
can affect the aging process and speed it up if you
regularly
go to sleep with a carb filled stomach. This is really the
only time of the day in which you should make a huge
priority to be cleared of insulin (or carbs). You should eat
no carbs at least 3 hours prior to going to sleep for the
day for the deep sleep GH surge. The only thing you should
eat before going to sleep is some slow digesting protein
(you can get that from Naked Whey on Amazon, which I highly recommend). and
good fat. Fat does not effect insulin levels at all, but
protein kind of does (especially beef), a good concoction to
eat before going to sleep is about 15-20 grams of caseinate
protein with a table spoon or so of extra virgin olive oil
and/or flax seed oil.
Marketing "Milestones"
The drive to popularize growth hormone began about 20 years
ago with publication of the book Life Extension: A Practical
Scientific Approach, by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw. The
book's central premise was large amounts of vitamins,
minerals, amino acids, and and other substances would cause
people to add muscle, burn fat, and live much longer.
Although their advice had no scientific basis, Pearson
and Shaw made hundreds of talk-show appearances that boosted
sales of the substances they recommended.
Soon after the book's publication, many amino acid products
were claimed to cause overnight weight loss by increasing
the release of growth hormone. So called "growth-hormone
releasers" were also marketed to bodybuilders with claims
that they would help build muscle. Such claims are unfounded
because amino acids taken by mouth do not stimulate growth
hormone release. These formulations are based mainly on
misinterpreted studies of intravenous arginine, which can
increase HGH blood levels for an hour or so. Taking it by
mouth has no such effect. The FTC, and the New York City
Department of Consumer Affairs attacked some
companies making "growth-hormone release" claims, but these
actions had very little effect on the overall marketplace.
In 1990, The New England Journal of Medicine published a
study that attracted mainstream media attention. The study
involved 12 men, aged 61 to 81, who were apparently healthy
but had IGF-I levels below those found in normal young men.
The 12 men were given growth hormone injections three times
a week for six months and compared with 9 men who received
no treatment. The treatment resulted in a decrease in
adipose (fatty) tissue and increases in lean body (muscle)
mass and lumbar spine density. An accompanying editorial
warned that some of the subjects had experienced side
effects and that the long-range effects of administering HGH
to healthy adults were unknown. It also warned that the
hormone shots were expensive and that the study had not
examined whether the men who received the hormone had
substantially improved their muscle strength, mobility, or
quality of life.
Despite the warning, the study inspired many offbeat
physicians to market themselves as "anti-aging specialists."
Many such physicians offer expensive tests that supposedly
determine the patient's "biological age," which they promise
to lower with expensive hormone shots and dietary
supplements. In 2001, NBC's Dateline showed what happened
when a 57-year-old woman visited a Cenegenics clinic in Las
Vegas, Nevada, where she underwent $1,500 worth of tests and
was offered a hormone and 40-pill-a-day supplement program
that would cost $1,500 a month. She was told that although
she tested at "age 54,"her hormone levels were "sub-optimal"
and that optimal would be the level of a 30-year -old.
The 1990 article also helped stimulate formation of the
American Association for Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and the
unrecognized medical specialty of "anti-aging medicine." The
group, founded in 1993. states that it has 11,500 members,
of whom 80% are medical or osteopathic physicians. Many
exhibitors at its conferences have made questionable claims
for HGH-related products.
The Internet has added another dimension to the HGH
marketplace. Thousands of Web sites and spam e-mailers are
hawking the actual hormone; alleged HGH releasers; alleged
oral hormone products (which can't work because any hormone
would be digested); and/or "homeopathic HGH" products.
Caution Needed
HGH is useful for treating growth hormone deficiency in
children and adults and has several other proven
(FDA-approved) uses. But the the American Association of
Clinical Endocrinologists has warned that the clinical use
of growth hormone as an anti-aging treatment or for patients
with ordinary obesity is not recommended.
Robert N. Butler, M.D., the noted gerontologist who founded
and heads the International Longevity Center-USA has warned
that, "So-called anti-aging medicine is largely a sham. We
simply do not have the equivalent of a blood pressure cuff
for testing aging." He further states:
Although growth hormone levels decline with age, it has not
been proven that to maintain the levels that exist in
young persons is beneficial. It is conceivable that
age-related hormonal changes may serve as useful markers of
physiological aging. However, this has not been demonstrated
experimentally for either humans or animals. Although
hormone-replacement trials have yielded some positive
results (at least in the short term), it is clear that
negative side effects can also occur in the form of
increased risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and
behavior changes.
It might even turn out that lower growth-hormone levels are
an indicator of health. Research findings indicate that mice
that overproduce growth hormones live only a short time,
suggesting that growth-hormone deficiency itself does not
cause accelerated aging, but that the opposite may be true.
. . .
Doctors who claim to have the ability to measure "biomarkers
of aging" and favorably affect them are not
scientifically-based.
In March 2003, the New England Journal of Medicine's took
the unprecedented step of denouncing misuse of Rudman's 1990
article. The full text of the article was placed online so
readers could see for themselves what it actually said; and
editorials pointed out that subsequent reports provide no
reason to be optimistic. As noted by Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey
M. Drazen, M.D.:
Although the findings of the study were biologically
interesting, the duration of treatment was so short that
side effects were unlikely to have emerged, and it was clear
that the results were not sufficient to serve as a basis for
treatment recommendations. . . . Indeed, Mary Lee Vance of
the University of Virginia said in an accompanying
editorial, "Because there are so many unanswered questions
about the use of growth hormone in the elderly and in adults
with growth hormone deficiency, its general use now or in
the immediate future is not justified." Dr. Vance restates
her views on the study in this issue of the Journal; they
remain fundamentally unchanged. . . .
We are especially concerned because the promotional e-mails
are apparently sending readers to our Web site; the 1990
article by Rudman et al. receives as many "hits" in a week
as other 1990 articles do in a year. If people are induced
to buy a "human growth hormone releaser" on the basis of
research published in the Journal, they are being misled. In
order to warn those who visit our Web site for this reason,
this Perspective article and Dr. Vance's commentaries will
from now on appear with the article by Rudman et al. each
time it is downloaded.
Citing several studies of HGH injections in which side
effects were significant, Vance concluded:
Studies that have followed the 1990 report by Rudman et al.
confirm the effects of growth hormone on body composition
but do not show improvement in function. In contrast,
resistance training improves muscle strength and function,
indicating that real effort is beneficial. There is no
current "magic-bullet" medication that retards or reverses
aging.
Regulatory Action
In April 2003, Nature's Youth, LLC, of Centerville,
Massachusetts, voluntarily destroyed approximately 5,700
boxes of "Nature's Youth HGH" with a market value of about
$515,000. The destruction took place after the FDA notified
the company that claims made for the product were
unsubstantiated and therefore illegal. The company had
claimed that the product, which it described as a
growth-hormone releaser, would enhance the body's natural
production of Human Growth Factors and Insulin-like Growth
Factor-1; improve physical performance; speed recovery from
training; increase cardiac output; and increase immune
functions; and was "your body's best defense against aging."
.When asked for substantiation, the company cited Rudman's 1990 report, which, as noted above, does not
support such claims. The product's leading promoter has been
G. Gordon Liddy, the former Watergate conspirator who served
five years in prison and now hosts a talk show syndicated to
160 radio stations. In 2002, Nature's Youth's Web site
carried a testimonial from Liddy:
I am often asked my secret for remaining virile, vigorous,
potent and fecund. The secret is that, in addition to not
smoking or drinking alcohol, exercising and following a diet
low in calories, fat and red meat and high in fish, I have
for some time been taking a Human Growth Hormone Releasant
specially formulated for me and heretofore not available to
the public. Now, under the brand name Nature's Youth HGH,
the exact formula I have been using is available to you. My
secret is out. Nature's Youth HGH is how I stay "Good to Go
and Ready to Launch!
The Bottom Line
For more information on human growth hormones, please visit
my article on
HGH Advice
Although growth hormone levels decline with age, it has not
been proven that to maintain the levels that exist in
young persons is beneficial. Considering the high cost,
significant side effects, and lack of proven effectiveness,
HGH shots appear to be a very poor investment. So called
"growth-hormone releasers," oral "growth hormone," and
"homeopathic HGH" products are fakes. HGH
spray, products, supplements, therapy, pills, injections are
all not worth it, they are more damaging than they are good.
Instead, try to learn ways to increase HGH naturally.
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